Constancely Changing
by Gifted
Summary: Follow Constance as she murders her first husband, becomes obsessed with money, and literally falls to her demise. Rated T just in case. HM One Shot.


**Title:** "Constance"ly Changing 

**Author: **Gifted (Of Gifted and Moonlight)

**Rating: T**

**Summary: **Follow Constance as she murders her first husband, becomes obsessed with money, and literally falls to her demise.

**Disclaimers: **I do not own the Haunted Mansion or the name, ghost, or life of Constance. I also don't own a certain…someone (I don't want to spoil it, but maybe it's obvious, but oh well.) Disneyland's The Haunted Mansion belongs to (Guess who?) Disney.

**Claimers: **I do, however, just own this story and the ideas represented.

**Author's Note:** I just want to point out that this story uses the Cast Member legends, but they are altered to involve Constance. This story was just for fun.

I want to thank my friends for support! I would also like to thank Aquarian Wolf for inspiration and sending me a email telling me how to put a story up. Thanks!

* * *

My name is Constance Cavanaugh. My life started as any other woman. I was raised to marry a good man with wealth and have a family, but I was also taught music, dancing, house keeping, and literature. I have read stories of men and women falling in love and I dreamed of finding the perfect husband whom I would love…

You can imagine my disappointment after coming home from a friend's and my father coming up to me and told me I was engaged. I was so angry, but I held it within and pretended to be happy. How could Father do this to me! I have never met this man to whom he said his name was Ambrose and was currently on a business trip. I wasn't in love with him and I haven't even met him.

Oh and my mother! She has so happy and didn't care about my feelings. Were they glad to get rid of me? I will never truly know. They probably still think I'm with Ambrose, happy as a clam.

By the way, I soon met him later. What an unattractive man! And goes on rambling about useless and boring things. I rather be married to a toad!

We got married and Mom got me the most prettiest wedding gown. I was really fond of it. It was the only thing I liked about this stupid wedding.

The only thing I survived on was that my husband would go away on business trips how so often. I was happy without him and miserable with him.

One day he came home unexpectedly and went on about how great his trip was in the garden. I wasn't listening until he said-

"I was thinking about our children."

I swear that I almost died. CHILDREN! With this man!

He got up to the flower bed and looked at the flowers day dreaming about sons or daughters (I can't really remember) and how beautiful they would be because I was.

I couldn't stand it! I didn't want to be here and I didn't want to give birth to children with him. Looking around I saw an axe. A servant had been chopping a tree for firewood and forgot to bring the axe in. I slowly stood up and grabbed it. Going forth, raising it higher and higher.

* * *

I was only sad because I had murdered someone. I realized it would have been better if I had just got the courage to tell him I wanted a divorce, but there was no time to dwell on that. There was a murdered man in my garden.

I raced inside. Luckily, I gave the servants a day off. Quickly, I saw a hatbox. Placing the newly purchased hat on my head, I carried the box outside. With some old gloves, I placed his head within the hatbox. How gross!

I ran up to the attic and placed the hat box within a large trunk and locked it with the stained old gloves in there. I hid the key in our room under the bed. I would find a better hiding place later.

I got my coat and went of to one of my friends on the other side of town. I would use the excuse that I had went to go window shopping and went to see one of my friends later.

I came home that day to the cops in my garden. I pretended to be surprised and was glad they hadn't gone to the attic.

They found no suspect and didn't even consider me. Everyone really thought I was in love with him.

I had never been selfish as a child, but that changed. Ambrose was very wealthy which was why my parents wanted me to marry him in the first place. Money became my true love.

After a while, I was short on money, but lucky me. Someone had gotten his eye on the poor widow me. His name was Frank. I don't remember his last name and I do not care. He was not very handsome, but better looking than Ambrose.

We got married and I moved into his house in a different town. I was mad that he didn't let me use his money as much I as I like too. Then my mind started ticking.

With a smile, I grabbed a set of statues. One was a woman and the other a man. I broke the head off the man.

"Oops!" I muttered with a sinister grin. I had become obsessed.

Two nights later, Frank was dead in our bedroom and another head in my new collection.

It feels good being filthy rich and soon I wanted even more. This time, I searched for a man and I found a wealthy colonel. I heard rumors and I could confirm that he was richer than my last two husbands.

I introduced myself at a party and went from there. I was the spider and he the fly. He had fallen for my thread woven trap.

He was more pleasant and even more better looking. If I had met him before Ambrose, I would have had a crush on him, but all I cared for was the coins jingling in his pockets.

We got married as well and before I knew it. Another head was added. To my disappointment, the idiot had a will prepared. Only half his fortune went to me and the other to his sister whom I had only met at the funeral and never saw again.

I knew that since two of my husbands were murdered in the same way. I was beginning to look suspicious. I moved to a new area.

There I went to a carnival. Hoping to meet some more men or at least cheer myself up from the disappointment.

I went to a medium's tent and met a gypsy. Her name was Leota Thomas. Leota and I became very close that we sent letters to each other. Leota too, like me wanted to get lots of money. She was the only one I ever trusted within my entire life.

Shortly after meeting Leota, the next man came to me automatically.

Reginald was his name and how ugly and old he was! But I didn't care. He was a duke visiting the states from some country in Europe. He carried an ugly cane and I despised him.

The only reason I had married him was for his money. How wealthy he was and what a great title. I enjoyed the life of an even higher class life. It went on for two years until Reginald was considering children as well.

Off went his head!

I went back to the States. Soon, I received a letter from my dear friend Leota telling me of her new job as a resident physic and she wanted me to visit.

I met George Gracey Junior and his wife, Lillian O'Malley. The new owner of the mansion. It turns out that his missing mother, Mary Gracey had murdered his father, George Gracey Senior with an axe (sounds familiar, no?) and he had just inherited his estate. He had hired Leota to learn more about his father for they weren't very close. He had become obsessed with the occult though he didn't like to admit it. He heard of my misfortunes and invited me to stay for as long as I liked.

Eventually, I became a permanent resident. It's no boring chore to live in Gracey Masnor for every day something is happening, though almost all of them were bad news.

Leota, my still dear friend, had a changed a bit. She still loved money though, but unknown besides to her and me, she uses George to get what ever she wants. In the end, she wants all of his money. I have to admit, by the talk of all her plans, I had become interested in his money as well, but never actually thought of it until later.

Lillian, or Lily as she liked to be called, was a very kind woman. If it weren't for me love of beheading for money, we would have become very close. George had met her at a circus where Lily would do a tight rope act.

George and Leota would send all the time together doing séances, that many were being to speculate a relationship

Lily was positive that George and Leota had an affair and with good reason. I had to sympathize for her as Leota would tease and torture her. George had never listened to her. Lily kept feeling worthless and became depressed. One day, at one of George's great aunt, Victoria's parties, they begged Lily to do her old tight rope trick Lily, glad to have some attention, smiled, and accepted.

The tightrope was arranged over the river near by. While at the middle, the rope snapped suddenly, and Lily fell to her death. Unknown to us, the river had become crocodile infested, and she was eaten by the creatures. Leota seemed happy about this incident.

Pretty soon, Leota gave birth to her daughter, Little Leota, which I became her godmother. Everybody was surprised and wanted to know the father which no one knew the answer. George was always silent at the thought of the girl. Leota used to smile wickedly at him whenever he came across the two together. Then after a while, to my surprise especially, Leota started treating the child like dirt, and George and Leota would glare at each other for a while. This gives everyone to believe that they had an affair. I guess that Leota thought this might be her chance to get his money, but failed after a heated argument. Everyone, even me, will never truly know.

Soon afterwards, they had made up and Leota convinced George that they needed more money, which was true. Leota paired him up with a rich little girl of 16 named Emily who just happened to be my cousin!

Emily was a sweet girl who had seemed like she had never grown, some would say. But she was always so annoying and bothersome to me. Apparently to Leota too, that she couldn't stand a whole day with she and George married. The night of the wedding ceremony after they had came home, Emily wanted to play hide-and-seek with her new husband. She hid in a trunk in the attic. I personally witnessed Leota lock it. Emily was found dead in the morning.

As the months went by, Leota related to me her plans about how she would get her name on George's will and kill him. Pretty soon, my mind was ticking. Perhaps I could have the money myself.

One night, after many had gone to bed, I pulled out the axe that had killed my previous husbands. Gripping it tightly, I approached the Séance Room. I could hear Leota chanting within. I hoped that Leota would not get a vision or a vibe.

Slowly and quietly opening the door, I swung it forward. Leota was too into her séance to notice. I slowly crept forward, raising the axe ever higher.

* * *

Leota was beheaded with no evidence left behind and a very grieved best friend.

George knowing that we were best friends and not suspecting that I murdered her, started spending a lot of time with me to cheer me up. He bought me gifts, took me to plays and local social events. Soon, easier said than done, we were married and I was Constance Gracey.

I quickly decided soon after the wedding that it was time. Bringing my faithful axe tha had killed Leota and the husbands before George, I searched. I found him in the Library.

"Hello George," I greeted to my husband hiding the axe behind my back He was reading one of his ghost stories and looked up at me.

"Hello Constance. Up this late?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes," I answered and started getting straight to the point, "Do you remember our wedding vows?"

"Yes, I do remember," he replied wondering where this was going, "Is there something wrong?"

"Do you know my favorite one?"

"I don't recall you telling me."

I brought out the axe find behind my back and raised it like so many times before, " 'Till Death do us part!"

George's eyes widen and he who had lived in a house that was full of deaths, he knew what was happening. He dropped his book and ran out.

"Georgie! You can't hide!" I called out childishly while racing after him. It felt so good to do this again.

"Accept your fate Georgie! Just like your father!" I yelled out.

I chased him to the Portrait Gallery which you had to enter by a secret entrance. George who had gone in it many times, quickly found the hidden button that opened the door and went through. I arrived to it just as it closed me out.

I had a hard time finding the stupid little thing! Surely, George must have found the other entrance and ran through it now. I used my axe to push the secret door manually. It was empty, but the other door was untouched. There was a ladder. The Portrait Gallery had never had it's roof finished so George had hired some men to finish it. I looked up at the ceiling and saw George's swinging body hanging from a noose.

I was happy that night. I had so far murdered five and was responsible for one. I was getting good at this. I would get Gracey Manor and all of George's money for my own! I was planning to report to the police that my husband had gone out to a visit, but hadn't come back. Yeah, that was good.

I went to hide my axe into the trunk in the attic. George hadn't known, but the attic was filled to the brim of my treasures I had earned from my other husbands. After locking the sword in the trunk, I heard someone walking behind me.

Turning around, I screamed. It was a skeleton-like man with a gold tooth. He wore a high collar cloak and he held a cane and hatbox.

"I have finally found you my love!" rasped the thing. The tooth, the cloak, and the cane! That hatbox was the one I used for Reginald's head.

"Reginald?" I asked terrified.

"That's right. I know you didn't mean to kill me. After all, we love each other so much. I have spent a long time looking for you so that we will finally be together again!"

I screamed again and he backed me up to the window.

"Please don't be scared dearest! I may look different, but that's only what the afterlife does to you," he said. The lightening flashed in the rainstorm and I was scared at looking at Reginald. His head disappeared and reappeared within the hatbox!

I was scared out of my mind! I looked for a way of escape.

The window! I was so desperate that I flung myself out it and landed on some sharp rocks. And that's how my life has ended.

As for my after life, George has forgiven me (though it has taken him 20 years to forgive and forget) and I haven't seen Reginald since that fateful night (though Emily thought she had seen him haunting the attic for a while.) Since our deaths, George decided to turn the house into a retirement home with an "active retirement" option. So what do I do now?

I will answer truthfully. I haunt the attic accompanied by Emily sometimes and do my part in the active retirement. But when a rich bachelor comes into my attic, I guarantee that I will be missing for awhile…

**Author's Note:** That's right! The certain someone was the Hatbox Ghost! I made him Reginald because they look similar in my opinion. Tell me what you think!


End file.
